Multilayer metal foil products are known in the art for heat and acoustical insulation and shielding. One class of such products are generally known as “all metal” shielding and insulation products made from multiple layers of metal foils. Although referred to as all metal heat shields and heat insulation products, it is commonly understood that such products may contain various other materials interspersed between the foil layers such as fibers, adhesives, scrim layer and the like. An example of all metal heat shields is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,800,905 which discloses multiple layers of metal foils configured in spaced apart layers to provide heat shielding products for the automotive industry and other uses. Another example of such products is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,958,603 which is directed to similar multilayer metal foil heat shield and insulation products but which are formed as integral products having independent structural strength due to structural features such as a rolled edge which combines all the layers into a fixed rigid structural configuration. Another example of similar multilayer metal products is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,939,212 which is directed to multilayer metal foil products which are corrugated in nature and which may be formed into flexible or stand-alone structural members by interlocking the corrugations of the multiple metal foil layers together. Multilayer metal foil heat insulation and shielding members are also useful in the food preparation devices, such as those illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,406,930 and in pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/422,140. The disclosures of the above patents and patent application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Another category of multilayer metal foil heat insulation and shielding products are those which include as a significant or major portion of the layered product fibrous insulation materials. Examples of these multilayer metal foil products containing layers of fibrous materials are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,634 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,767,024. Typically these types of multilayer metal foil shields having significant fiber content are used in lower temperature applications than the above “all-metal” type products. The disclosures of the above patents are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
While the manufacture of the above multilayer metal foil insulation and shielding products is well-known, there is a need for increased efficiency and increased flexibility in the manufacturing processes which can be used for production of those products.